‘Why NBC is hard on hate speech promoters’

The management of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), yesterday, said contrary to insinuations, its Director General, Mallam Ishaq Modibbo Kawu never specifically targeted President Buhari’s supporters, when he spoke in Kano, but warned politicians generally against hate speeches.

It maintained that the act establishing NBC specifies that regulating the industry is a core function of the Commission to ensure decent, objective and factual reportage by all operators, which resonates with the expressed determination and policy thrust of the present administration to eliminate hate and incendiary speeches and broadcasts across all levels of society, which have heated and strained society and law enforcement efforts.

The Commission, in a statement, said: “NBC’s position on hate speech and other incendiary broadcasts remains consistent with the overarching principles and rules of global best-practice, and are aligned to the broader policy thrusts of the Federal Government of Nigeria under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The NBC would, therefore, like to seize this opportunity and strongly appeal to our partners in both the traditional and on-line media to uphold the guiding tenets of the noble profession through objective, factual and decent reportage. This has been the time-tested practice and should remain the irreducible minimum gold-standard in our media practice.”